Choosing the level of detail for hazard identification

✍ Scribed by Robert Deshotels; Mark Dejmek

• Book ID: 105358750
• Publisher: American Institute of Chemical Engineers
• Year: 1995
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 991 KB
• Volume: 14
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1066-8527
• DOI: 10.1002/prs.680140311

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

To be cost‐effective, a process hazards analysis effort should concentrate on those areas where there is the greatest potential for risk reduction. The level of detail of the analysis is a factor which affects the magnitude of effort and the completeness of the results. Often, there is an opportunity to combine components together to be analyzed as a single entity, in order to increase the efficiency of the hazard identification process. Issues arise concerning how to combine components, and what should be the appropriate level of detail for consideration. For instance, a level of detail shown on piping and instrumentation diagrams which has proven convenient for process design may not be sufficient or optimal for hazard identification. To resolve such issues, some guidelines are proposed for determining the appropriate level of detail. These guidelines have been deduced from the intent of the analysis and the basic assumptions of the methodology.